Ray Mizumura-Pence

Ray Mizumura-Pence is an associate teaching professor of American studies at the University of Kansas. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from the University of Wyoming (1992) and Miami University (1996) and completed his Ph.D in American Studies at KU in 2006. As a teacher and scholar, Ray is committed to sharing and adding to interdisciplinary knowledge about disability. His published works include several book chapters, journal articles, and encyclopedia entries. Since 2011, Ray has served as a researcher for AUMI-KU InterArts, a project focusing on music and performance for people of all abilities. He is a co-founder and co-director of the Disability Studies Seminar, which has been part of programming at the KU Hall Center for the Humanities since 2014. In 2015, Ray co-wrote material for an exhibit on the Americans with Disabilities Act presented at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics. His ongoing research projects address the roles of disability in stand-up comedy and the lived experiences of disabled veterans.